Episode Report Card Erin: B | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Missing? I'll tell you what's missing.
By Erin | Season 3 | Episode 4 | Aired on 10.18.2003
Corner Desk of Inappropriate PDAs. Killjoy's typing something into her computer. Vaughn comes up behind her and gives her a shoulder squeeze, saying he'll come by after op-tech. There's an air kiss on both their parts, slightly more appropriate than the virtual ass-grabbing of previous episodes, but still totally out of line for married CIA agents. Vaughn goes to leave, but Killjoy stops him. She's all, hey, that report you filed on the destruction of that bunker -- you didn't give any details on the weapon Sark was using. Vaughn's all, uh, yeah, no, I didn't. But that's not really the point of the report. Killjoy's all, oh, but I think it is. Vaughn's all, that's the point of the report? Really? I thought the point of the report was to give us something to fight about so that the viewing audience will see the chinks in our previously impenetrable relationship armor.
Okay, so Killjoy's all, dude? You're not cooperating here. Vaughn's all, yeah? Well, we blew up the bunker. End of story. Don't look at me like that. END OF STORY. Killjoy's all, hey, you don't need to take that tone with me, buddy. Vaughn's all, well, I've never gotten notes on my reports before, princess, and I'm not about to start now. Killjoy's all, HEY. The better you do your job, the better I do mine, okay? And the sooner you start making nice-nice with your wife, WHO HAPPENS TO BE YOUR DAMN SUPERIOR, the sooner you get off the SOFA. Vaughn basically swallows the response he really wants to make, and just says that it was a CZ-100 9-millimeter. Clunk. End of scene.
Plane of Potential Relationship Rekindling. Syd's studying up on the mission. Weiss is sleeping. Vaughn walks over and sits across from Syd and announces that, during the mission, he'll be using a laser mic; he'll be able to hear her, but she won't be able to communicate with him. Can't risk Simon finding any recording devices on her. Instead, he hands her a lipstick and tells her that a tracking device is stuck to the bottom. She's to affix it to whatever they steal so the CIA can track it back to the Covenant.
Syd opens it. "You know, peach isn't really in this season," she snarks. "I heard peach was the new green," says Vaughn. "I thought beige was the new green," she retorts. "No, beige is the new peach." Their manner is easy, humorous, and not a little bit sexy. It even comes complete with some wry and witty smirks. And it's quite obvious, with this scene, that the powers that be want us to remember the clunkiness of the Elephant relationship and compare it to the smooth rapport of the Syd/Vaughn one. WE GET IT. We also WANT IT BACK. I'm not a 'shipper in any way, shape, or form, but the easy sexiness of the S/V relationship is a welcome respite from the combat-booted PDA of the Elephants. And, with another clunk, this scene too comes to an end.